Paulsen's Town Hall - "Gosh, Shucks, Gee Whiz - I'm Really A Moderate..."

by: TwoPuttTommy

Wed Sep 07, 2011 at 09:45:42 AM CDT

So when I pulled into the parking lot an saw a lot of cars, I figured there was a lot o' folk there for the Town Hall.  I figured wrong; there was a football game across the lot.  Wonder how many wanted to be at both places?

Anyway, Paulsen pulled his "gosh, shucks, gee whiz - I'm really a moderate" schtick throughout the whole Town Hall; it's an act he's been practicing for years.  He started out calling for civility - and for the most part, it was a civil affair.

"Most part." Seems the #RWNJ acting the most obnoxiously - IMNSHO - in the crowd was none other than Joe Arwood, the little-known St. Bonifacious City Council Member who announced he's going to oppose Klobuchar and make a run for the Senate.  I shoulda kept the ol' video camera on THIS guy!

Highlight of the Town Hall was during the Q & A - and I have to give a LOT of credit for Paulsen on the Q&A.  Paulsen only talked for about 20 minutes, and then opened the floor for questions.

And for 40 minutes, Paulsen took all questions; for 40 minutes, those that raised their hands got to ask.  No pre-screening; no taking of only "friendly" questions.  Gotta give credit on this one!

Back to the highlight - Paulsen talked about the long time it takes for a manufacturer to get FDA approval for devices; that because of this, manufacturers were going to Europe to speed up taking new product to market.

So this guy gets the microphone, and basically says:  "Hey! I'm in the medical device industry, and the reason it takes so long is the FDA is shorthanded.  How about we hire some more workers to speed the process up?"

"Um, gosh, shucks, the graphs;   ummm... well, I, ah....."

Got that one on tape!

Anyway, there's some tweets - and a few comments - below the fold.  One of 'em has to do with a question by former GOP State Senator Ed Oliver...

TwoPuttTommy
Happy happy joy joy! I'm the first sign-in for #RWNJ #ErikPaulsen's #TownHall in Mound! #StribPol twitpic.com/6h3oxa
13 hours ago

Got there around 6:00 pm, and there was no one but me.  A Paulsen Staffer was kind enough to shoot the picture....

TwoPuttTommy  
Interesting - 2 Sheriff's Deputies doing a security sweep of #Paulsen's #TownHall venue. So far no one here but staffers & the ol' TwoPutter
13 hours ago

I'm thinking that the Gabrielle Giffords shooting might have a bit to do with the security sweep, and said Deputies sticking around for the whole show.  But that's just a guess....

TwoPuttTommy
Of course, there's quite a few folk across the parking lot watching a football game...
13 hours ago

TwoPuttTommy
20 minutes to #Paulsen's #TownHall and there is exactly one - ONE - person in the venue #StribPol twitpic.com/6h44yo
13 hours ago

TwoPuttTommy
There's like 16 people here. Wait! Make that 18.... #Paulsen #TownHall #StribPol
13 hours ago

TwoPuttTommy  
Last minute rush! I count 36...
13 hours ago

TwoPuttTommy
#Paulsen calling for "civility" - maybe he should be talking to @agsutton, @mbrodkorb, et al. #StribPol
13 hours ago

Of course, I'm referring to MnGOP Boss Tony Sutton calling 13 former GOP State Senators and Representatives "quislings."  For more info, go to "Sutton's Quisling Comment: There's A Pattern, Here "

TwoPuttTommy
#Paulsen claims he met w/Obama asking for help on medical devices; wants to work w/ AKlo too - #RWNJ talking like a #RINO! StribPol
13 hours ago

I'm guessing Paulsen's polling is showing that the 3rd isn't as "red" as Paulsen would like, so he's continuing his "I'm a moderate in the mold of Frenzel & Ramstad" act.

TwoPuttTommy  
#Paulsen: no state budget problems in OK nor NDak; China drilling off of #Cuba. Drill baby drill! #StribPol
12 hours ago

Simply begging for a fat-check....

TwoPuttTommy
#Paulsen - #Medicare insolvent in 2024. Seems like he's running as an outsider rather than the #CareerPolitician he is #StribPol
12 hours ago

TwoPuttTommy
#RWNJ ripping #Paulsen over Deficit ceiling vote. Well, "civilly" ripping Paulsen. It's really rather tame here... #StribPol
12 hours ago

Most of the questions were from the proverbial "left" side o' the aisle; the questions from the wingnut side were almost all platitudes rather than questions.  Except this one.  There really are a LOT of RWNJ that wanted the raising the debt ceiling vote to fail - and this was one of 'em...

TwoPuttTommy
#Paulsen says nice stuff about #MPR, says he's a member. Ruh ROH!!! He better hope #RWNJ don't find out!!! #StribPol
12 hours ago

Coulda been a COMMERCIAL for Minnesota Public Radio....

TwoPuttTommy
"what is gov't doing to protect American jobs?" #Paulsen "thats a good question." #StribPol
12 hours ago

Self-explanatory....

TwoPuttTommy  
Ed Oliver: Congress approval in single digits. #Paulsen: Need to work together, civilly. Didn't @agsutton call Oliver #quisling? StribPol
12 hours ago

OK, this one surprised me - Paulsen starts out decrying the incivility going around today - and to be quite frank, the worst of the worst is from guys like Tom Emmer:  "I don't think you can call yourself a freedom-loving American and be a Democrat."

As noted before, Ed Oliver is a former State Senator, and a veteran.  He and 12 GOPer former state legislators came out "for" IP{ Candidate for Governor Tom Horner in the last election, for this, GOPer Party Boss about those 13:  "There's a special place in hell for these quislings."

Sutton later kinda backed off; claiming "quisling" was synonymous with "traitor."  Never one to miss a chance for incivility, Sutton explained: "It would be like saying someone's a Benedict Arnold."

Way to go, Tony!!!

That's about as incivil as you can get, especially as 2 of the 13 served in wars; George Pillsbury WW2 and Bill Belanger in the Korean War.

Anyway, Oliver's question got the predictable "gosh, shucks, gee whiz - I'm really a moderate" schtick and the "hey - I don't do that" response.

True - Paulsen doesn't throw bombs; he doesn't HAVE to.

He's got Brodkorb's Blog and Sutton around to do it for him.

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